Solar Decathlon 2009

Penn State: Fusing Nature and the Built Environment

Bayer Material Science, a sponsor of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2009 Penn State team, purchased the Natural Fusion house for its U.S. headquarters in Robinson, Pennsylvania. This corporate campus near Pittsburgh also includes 200 acres of wetland reserve certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council.

When developing its house design, the Penn State team sought to integrate the built environment with natural surroundings. The resulting house, named Natural Fusion, blended these two elements throughout. Examples of this concept include:

Recycled rubber-enhanced landscape mulch

Bio-based spray foam insulation

Plants added to the roof system for heat reduction.

Natural Fusion's technologies are actually as accessible to consumers as they are demonstrative of the core concept. The team chose market-ready products to show some of the possibilities for green living within reach.

"We're building a collaborative network that brings together innovative products and services to make sustainable, environmentally friendly, and profitable building solutions possible," says Paul Platte, head of Bayer's EcoCommercial Building Program. The partnership with Penn State's Solar Decathlon 2009 team was simply a natural fit.